ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged the international community to recognise the “burden of Afghan refugees” being shouldered by Pakistan and demonstrate “collective responsibility” to deal with the issue, a statement from the PM’s office said.
His remarks came during a meeting with the Commissioner of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, at the Prime Minister’s House.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) arrived in Pakistan on Sunday on a three-day visit, his first visit since the caretaker government announced a repatriation plan of what it called “undocumented aliens” in November last year.
“The prime minister stressed that the international community must recognize the burden being shouldered by Pakistan while hosting such a large refugee population, and demonstrate collective responsibility,” the statement said.
PM Shehbaz noted that despite numerous challenges, Pakistan had hosted Afghan refugees with exemplary respect and dignity, the statement added.
He sought UNHCR’s support in mobilizing adequate resources to supplement Pakistan’s efforts in this regard, urging the global refugee agency to play its role in coming up with durable solutions to address the situation of Afghan refugees, including through safe and dignified return and reintegration in their homeland, as well as third-country relocation.
While reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to addressing the protection and safety needs of people in vulnerable situations, PM Shehbazemphasised that the international community needed to be mindful of the socio-economic challenges and security threats that Pakistan was facing.
“The UN High Commissioner expressed gratitude for Pakistan’s generosity and hospitality in hosting millions of Afghan refugees for the past many decades and assured that UNHCR would continue to work closely with Pakistan to fulfill the basic needs of the Afghan refugees,” the statement added.
Pakistan launched the first round of repatriation of what it called “undocumented aliens” in November last year.
No official data has been released as to how many of the estimated 1.7m undocumented Afghans have left for their country since November 2023, though the figure likely fell hugely short of what is now being considered a grossly exaggerated number.
But according to informed sources, the total number of undocumented Afghans who have returned to Afghanistan via Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan in the first round stands at around the half million-mark.
